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Of millions of people
who have participated in the martial arts since their inception in the U.S. in 1948, only
four have had a measurable impact with the general public--and Joe Lewis, 47, the retired
world heavyweight karate champion of Wilmington, NC, is one of them.
Dubbed the "Muhammed Ali of his sport," Lewis
is to karate what Arnold Schwarzenegger is to body building. In a career that
spanned 17 years, he won in his era, more titles, set more records, and instituted more
innovations than anyone in the history of sport karate.
Lewis, who began his training in Okinawa
and also studied with the late great Bruce Lee, has been inducted into nine various halls
of fame, the latest of which came in 1986 in the Black Belt Hall of Fame as "Instructor
of the Year." His greatest accolade, however, came in 1985 when,
in a "Karate Illustrated" survey of America's top
fighters, Lewis was chosen by his peers (including Chuck Norris) as "the greatest
karate fighter of all time."
Lewis, blessed with muscles, intellect,
and movie-star looks, began studying for an acting career in 1970. He starred in two
action-adventure films, "Jaguar Lives"
(1970) and "Force:
Five" (1981), appeared in several TV series, and was a guest on
numerous talk shows, such as Joey Bishop, Johnny Carson and Dinah Shore shows, as well as
multiple appearances on Merv Griffin.
Since 1984, he has turned his talents and
energies to a professional teaching career. Each year he conducts more seminars in
more places throughout the world than anyone in business. In 1987, for example, he
taught 140 seminars in 80 cities in 8 countries, in addition to making personal
appearances at tournaments, other martial arts functions, and charity benefits.
Currently, his research has led to his
producing over a dozen one of a kind instructional video tapes. He remains active
playing characters in film projects and writes for several martial arts publications world
wide.
Joe Lewis' Accomplishments:
The following is a synopsis of the records set, innovations
created and firsts achieved by Joe Lewis.
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Win the first national karate tournament he entered without
having seen or participated in one previously (1966).
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Appear on the cover of a national martial arts publication
(1967).
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Create a Top-10 ratings list for American karate fighters
(1967).
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Became a three-time winner of the Internationals (1969-1971).
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Introduce full contact karate, aka kickboxing (1970).
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Be featured in "Sports Illustrated" and
"The Ring" (1970).
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Co-host a national talk show completely devoted to the
martial arts (Merv Griffin, 1973).
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Launch kickboxing as a televised sport, along with his
student, Tom Tannenbaum, then a vice-president at Universal Television. The
90-minute special aired on ABC's "Wide World of Entertainment" (1974).
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Appear on the cover of "Playgirl" (1974).
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Create a
revoluntionary scientific approach to fighting which he subsequently
taught to almost every important American karate champion (1973).
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Pursue a full-time acting career (1975).
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Make a comeback bid at age 39 after a seven-year hiatus,
climbing to third in the world heavyweight ratings before losing his last fight for
the U.S. Heavyweight Championship (1983).
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Has won eleven different Hall of Fame awards.
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First martial artist champion to be featured in "Gentlemen's
Quarterly" magazine.
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